8 To Goldsmiths

Bridget was pleased with her copy of the Van Eyck. Clifford Frith concurred that the painting should be included in the portfolio that she submitted as part of her application to Goldsmiths, and it was decided that he would present her work for consideration by the school. Bridget’s efforts served her well. Despite the anticipated stiff competition from older, ex-service men and women, some of whom were in their 30s, the 18-year-old managed to obtain a place. Accordingly, in autumn 1949 Bridget finally commenced the full-time art education she had so ardently pursued.

Situated in New Cross, south-east London, Goldsmiths had been part of the University of London since 1904, but when Bridget started her studies its reputation as a leading art school lay in the future, following later expansion in the 1960s. The institution that she joined was somewhat overshadowed by the older schools, notably the Royal College of Art, the Slade School of Fine Art, the Central School of Arts and Crafts, and St Martin’s School of Art. By contrast, Goldsmiths was perceived as one of the newer and fresher art schools. But Bridget was largely unaware of, and unconcerned by, the issue of reputation. Her aunt Betty had been a former student, George Butler had recommended the school, and Frith was teaching there and had been instrumental in securing her a place. Gerald Kitchin, whose portrait she had painted and with whom she discerned an affinity, was already studying at Goldsmiths. Proceeding from different sources, these various paths had met, so there may have been some sense of rightness about her eventual destination. Whatever Goldsmiths stood for, and irrespective of the route she had taken, Bridget’s feeling on arrival was one of acceptance. This is where she wanted to be.

That feeling was accompanied, not least, by a sense of gratitude. Coming almost straight from school, Bridget immediately found herself among an older cast of fellow students, many of whom were returning to civilian life following active war service. Those with whom she had contact included Albert Irvin, who was then 27 years old and a former navigator in the raf, and his girlfriend Betty Nicholson. Some of Bridget’s younger contemporaries were Mary Quant, her future husband Alexander Plunket Greene and John Norris Wood. Not least among that circle was Kitchin, with whom she now began to form a close, affectionate attachment. The common atmosphere was overwhelmingly one of relief. Everyone – Bridget included – still shared a delight that the war was over. No one was unaware that freedom had been won and that the outcome of the war could have been very different, and none took their present situation for granted. It seemed to Bridget that previous anxieties had now receded. The war years and its uncertainties and austerities were in the past. Although the world was still recovering from the recent horrors and indeed was not without new concerns, the future appeared brighter. Her mood was one of excited expectation. The prospect of embarking on a life with art as its focus felt positive and celebratory, almost a luxury. Later she recalled, ‘I wanted joy’.

While attending Goldsmiths Bridget lived with aunt Betty and her brother Philip in their home at Sydenham Hill. Now an adult, she nevertheless remained in some ways very immature. Acute shyness continued to be inhibiting and her confidence was weakened by self-consciousness about the way she spoke. Her ‘educated voice’, which she hated, was not a problem at Cheltenham Ladies’ College, but in her new surroundings she felt it presented a disadvantage, possibly because it did not accord with the more down-to-earth cultural atmosphere. At this time, her political outlook was very left-wing, and in this she was influenced by Gerald’s beliefs. Her appearance, too, was also slightly out of step with the wider look. Then, as now, art students favoured a studied informality, and at that time the fashion for women tended towards cardigans, scarves worn around the neck, men’s shirts and corduroy trousers. Reflecting her mother’s preferences, Bridget wore tea dresses. One of her favourites was

With her sights now set on studying painting, Bridget’s ambition turned to securing a place at the Royal College of Art (rca). As she was well aware, achieving that objective was no small undertaking. Having eliminated her attendance at almost all the other courses at Goldsmiths in favour of drawing, she left that institution without qualifications. Moreover, her experience of painting was limited. Although she had continued to explore this activity with Gerald at weekends and during holidays in the studio they shared at Lewisham Way, she was still in many ways a beginner. Their common enthusiasm for Munch continued to excite a sense of experiment and adventure, and through working together Gerald kept pace with her efforts and interests. They discussed the work of other European modern masters who were then gaining visibility in reproduction among a British audience, notably Picasso, Matisse, Bonnard and Mondrian. She was also familiar with the indigenous modernist approaches as evinced by Victor Pasmore, John Piper, Paul Nash, Henry Moore and Ben Nicholson through the books given to her by her mother. The Penguin Modern Painters series provided tantalising – if bewildering –glimpses of these artists’ different styles. There were also contrasting figures, such as Stanley Spencer, who was then attracting a growing constituency of admirers. As this disparate range of awareness suggests, her understanding of modern painting – in common with her peers –remained fragmentary and even confused. Her desire to attend the rca was thus founded both on a lack of experience and on limited knowledge. These deficits were matched only by her eagerness to learn. Despite such shortcomings she nevertheless derived confidence from everything that had been achieved previously with Rabin. She believed that in drawing, if in little else, she possessed a solid base, and reasoned that attending the rca would give her a comparable foundation in the discipline of painting. She had a wealth of drawings that demonstrated her ability and from which she drew strength. There were also colour studies from nature and pictures depicting people in cafés that provided further evidence of talent. With the prospect of moving on from Goldsmiths in sight, she had recently turned to working outdoors. She was fascinated by the bright fluorescent lights in the shops and eating places around Victoria station, and these sites had supplied a rich source of new, lively motifs. She had made numerous drawings of people sitting at home watching television, subjects that had been observed through windows. These images had a contemporary feeling that she no doubt hoped would be of interest. She now felt that she was ready to learn about painting and all those related matters that appeared mysterious and yet essential to her goals. Entrusting her eligibility to this array of achievement, she consequently approached the potential move with enormous enthusiasm.

Both Bridget and Gerald applied to the rca and she was granted an interview. Much to her surprise and delight, among the panel of unfamiliar faces that she confronted was one that she recognised. Having moved on from Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Colin Hayes now returned her gaze, albeit with a subtle intimation that any sense of the previous connection between them would not be helpful to her cause. She immediately understood the thinking behind his apparent show of indifference and played along. The Rector was Robin Darwin, the Professor of Painting Rodrigo Moynihan. The college’s other staff included John Minton, Carel Weight, Ruskin Spear, Rodney Burn, Barnett Freedman, James Fitton and Roger de Grey. As Bridget recognised, this was ‘a very different kind of camp’, one that would have regarded Rabin and his teaching methods, rooted as they were in classical thinking, as old guard. She did not take sides in the antagonism between the traditional and modern contingents that was then developing and had no strong feelings either way. At that crucial moment of her assessment, she simply wanted a way into painting. Nevertheless, she knew how her previous training would be perceived, and in presenting her drawings she submitted to the potentially inimical